Bins remain uncollected with rubbish piling high on the streets after refuse workers refused to go to work again over a pay dispute.

For the second day running, Cityclean staff at Brighton and Hove City Council continued unofficial strike action over plans which union representatives claim will leave some staff £4,000 out of pocket.

The decision left more than 20,000 household bins uncollected, dozens of communal containers overflowing and hundreds of streets unswept.

To show their anger, dozens of work- ers descended on Brighton Town Hall ahead of the full council meeting last night calling for council leader Jason Kitcat to step down.

One Green councillor, Alex Phillips, even admitted: “If I were him, I would resign.”

Mark Turner, of the GMB, said: “I think Coun Kitcat should really take stock.

“I do not think we can move forward as an organisation. We need someone there as a civic leader that we can trust.”

Mr Turner said he expected Cityclean staff to return to work today but that they would only do their regular rounds and not the backlog.
 

Instead the council is expected to bring in agency staff from Monday to clear the waste.

Mr Turner added that a ballot for full industrial action is expected to be lodged in the coming days with a mass walkout possible in weeks.

It comes after the council revealed the final offer after months of negotiations on how it would revamp its system of allowances and expenses to its workers.

While the majority of the council’s 8,000-strong workforce will not lose out, Cityclean workers, IT staff and environmental health officers would.

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas and Green councillor Mike Jones visited staff yesterday to talk about the issue.

A number of Green councillors, including deputy council leader Phelim MacCafferty, also spoke to workers outside Brighton Town Hall.

This is despite members of the coun- cil’s Green minority administration voting with Conservative members to hand over pay talks to unelected officers in January.
 

Coun Phillips said: “If I were Coun Kitcat, I would resign. “I think he has made too many mis takes on this.

“The way he has handled it has shown poor leadership skills.

“£4,000 is a lot when you are earning £18,000.”

Council leader Jason Kitcat said he made “no apologies” for revising the system – and said previous administrations had dodged the issue.

He added that the council’s aim was to provide a fair system of pay, adding the offer would actually cost the local authority more in total.

Coun Kitcat said: “With input from officers and unions, we have moved heaven and earth to produce the best possible offer which absolutely min- imises detriment while remaining within legal and financial constraints.

“With the success of this process I believe that once and for all we can have a council with a clear and fair pay and allowances system.”

Council chief executive Penny Thompson said: “The changes we are proposing are about having a fair, con- sistent and affordable pay and allowances system across the whole council.”